Middle Eastern
Morocco's Restaurant Best of Winner - 2015
Lunch , Dinner , Brunch $$$
Eating & Nightlife
Palo Alto is home to some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area, in many cases rivaling the best restaurants in San Francisco. It is a favorite dinner spot for locals living throughout Silicon Valley and visiting tourists and business people from around the world.
Most of the best restaurants are relatively small and independent, and without reservations you can expect to wait up to an hour or longer, especially on weekends.
Visitors looking for familiar but quality food will find lots to choose from. Chains including The Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, P.F. Chang's, Max's Opera Cafe, Il Fornaio, Gordon Biersch and Buca di Beppo all have Palo Alto locations.
Restaurants are the focal point for nightlife in Palo Alto, and it's not uncommon for them to still be seating customers at 10 or 11 o'clock on weekends. A popular bar scene consisting of mostly non-local young professionals and some Stanford students keeps downtown Palo Alto going until after 1 a.m. A few restaurants and bars feature live music or DJs.
For live theater, check out TheatreWorks, a nationally-acclaimed group that draws from throughout the Peninsula and Silicon Valley. Palo Alto Players, a popular community theater group that was the Peninsula's first theater group when formed in 1931, offers a regular schedule of plays at the Lucie Stern Community Center in Palo Alto. The much-loved Palo Alto Children's Theatre has it's own dedicated stage at the community center and has ignited the acting passion of many local children. Check the calendar for other theater, music and dance offerings in Palo Alto and at Stanford.
View a PDF of a useful listing of restaurants published in the Palo Alto Online printed Visitors Guide.
Looking for a good place for a weekend brunch? These restaurants offer special brunch menus.
Want to limit your search to the places our readers selected as "The Best?" These restaurants, cafes and eateries were the winners in our most recent "Best of Palo Alto" contest.
Japanese
Ramen House Ryowa Best of Winner - Best Noodle Place, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Lunch , Dinner $
Cafes, Sandwiches
Red Rock Coffee Co. Best of Winner - 2015
Red Rock Coffee Co. has a typical coffee house menu consisting of sandwiches, smoothies, teas, pastries, etc. Also features live music on weekends, an open mic on Monday nights and free wireless internet.
Breakfast , Lunch $
Italian
Ristorante Don Giovanni Best of Winner - 2015
A reliable bet for a good dinner and a relaxing evening out. The menu is sprawling and the three or four daily specials are frequently imaginative, with a pasta of the day, a risotto, one or two fish dishes and sometimes veal on a mesquite wood-burning grill.
Lunch , Dinner $$$
British
St. Stephen's Green Best of Winner - Best Bar, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Breakfast , Lunch , Dinner $$
Japanese
Sushi Tomi Best of Winner - 2015
This tiny Japanese restaurant almost always seems full. More expensive than some local sushi spots, but you can taste the quality- chef Kitamura serves some of the freshest and most succulent sushi around.
Lunch , Dinner $$
Mexican
Taqueria La Bamba Best of Winner - Best Burrito, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Must all new restaurants challenge preconceptions with a dizzying fusion mix? Those wanting a break from that whirl will welcome Taqueria La Bamba, where the straightforward Mexican food is simple, nourishing and familiar. Other than skimping on the chips, the restaurant offers a satisfying menu and particularly large al pastor super burrito.
Lunch , Dinner $
Vietnamese
Xanh Restaurant Best of Winner - 2015
Chef Phuy Tham has created a traditional Vietnamese menu with a modern California twist. Highlights include the banana leaf sea bass and catfish in a clay pot. Xanh Restuarant provides stylish, casual ambiance and well-prepared dishes. Full wine list available.
Lunch , Dinner $$$
California Cuisine, French
Firehouse Bistro Best of Winner - Best new restaurant The award for favorite new restaurant goes to the Firehouse Bistro in Woodside. Owners LeeAnn and Bill Gilbert have owned the bui
Dinner $$$
American
Village Pub, The Best of Winner - Best romantic restaurant Deep burgundy walls, white linen covered tables glowing with candlelight and set far enough apart for intimate conversation,
Village Pub serves some of the best dishes we've had since visits to New York's top restaurants. Save room for a decadent dessert souffle or end on a lighter note with homemade sorbets.
Lunch , Dinner , Brunch $$$$
Cafes, Sandwiches
Woodside Bakery and Cafe Best of Winner - Best Bakery, Almanac Readers Choice, 2011
The bakery side turns out serviceable sticky buns and cakes with gooey buttercream roses, but the cafe side has refined and distilled its hip Cal-Ital menu.
Breakfast , Lunch , Dinner , Brunch $$
Indian
Amber Club Best of Winner - Best Indian restaurant: Amber India may be moving to Los Altos later this summer, but customers don't need to worry about losing its expansive menu of
Lunch , Dinner $$$
American
Armadillo Willy's Burgers & BBQ Best of Winner - Best BBQ, Mountain View Voice, 2011
This Texas-style restaurant serves up big plates of barbecue, ribs and steaks. Try any of the barbecue sandwiches or platters with a side of fries or the spicy peanut slaw. You wonÕt go home hungry.
Lunch , Dinner $$
Chinese
Chef Chu's Best of Winner - Best Chinese Restaurant, Palo Alto Weekly, 2008, 2011 MV Voice 2013 MV Voice 2015
The mammoth two-story restaurant has a menu ranging from the warhorses of chicken chow mein and fried prawns to more up-to-date choices. Silver anchovies and almonds make for a surprisingly tasty appetizer, and Lovers' Prawns are the perfect couple.
Lunch , Dinner $$
Middle Eastern
Go Go Gyro Best of Winner - Best Mediterranean, New Restaurant, Palo Alto Weekly, 2011; Best Take Out, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Lunch , Dinner $$
Page 4 of 4